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Pawlenty Wants To Abolish the Army

Republican presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty laid out an economic vision for America on Tuesday that would cut taxes and dramatically reduce the size and scope of government operations.

Among his more novel ideas: If you can find it on Google, the government shouldn’t be doing it.

“We can start by applying what I call ‘The Google Test.’ If you can find a good or service on the Internet, then the federal government probably doesn’t need to be doing it,” Pawlenty said.

Among the services he would cut: Amtrak, the U.S. Postal Service, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the Government Printing Office.

Pawlenty said those organizations “were all built for a time in our country when the private sector did not adequately provide those products. That’s no longer the case.”

Interpreted broadly, the test could spell the end of federal involvement in the storage of nuclear waste, environmental clean-up efforts and disaster relief — all services that a Google search reveals are offered by private sector firms.

But it took me only a few seconds on Google to find www.privatemilitary.org. Hey, the Army, the Navy and all that were built for a time when the private sector did not provide their products. But now we can just hire mercenaries!

Best comment so far: I can also use Google to find much better Presidential candidates than Tim Pawlenty.